We had this challenge when we moved into our house. Our current vet was over 30 minutes away and we have to take our dog in 3x/week for fluids. Our new neighborhood has five vet clinics. Four were not taking any new patients. Luckily we were able to get into the fifth clinic because they were brand new and were building up their client list.
That wasn't unique to our area either. We've heard from several friends that they've had similar issues getting into vets.
We're in a similar boat. We only got our new dog into the practice because they'd cared for our previous dog for 13 years. The prices aren't great, but they're bearable and the staff there are absolutely first-rate animal lovers.
That wasn't unique to our area either. We've heard from several friends that they've had similar issues getting into vets.